Facebook to Verify Trustworthy Apps - Stupid Ones Still Welcome
Facebook announced this afternoon that the company will now offer more high-profile placement for applications that are verified as trustworthy and pay an application fee for the honor.
The biggest problem with Facebook apps is probably not that they are security-violating and spam-happy. The biggest problem is that this incredible medium for global communication is being polluted by applications that are mind-numbing, insipid and pander to the lowest common denominator of humanity - even if they are otherwise well behaved.
Vetting apps for "trustworthiness" is a good idea, but trustworthiness is just one of the criteria listed on the Facebook platform's guidelines page. The first guideline is that the apps should be meaningful and useful! Any time spent in the app directory will show just how meaningless that guideline is.
The new Verified Apps program will be based on three criteria:
- Secure: Protects user data and honors privacy choices for everyone across the social graph
- Respectful: Values user attention and honors their intentions in communications and actions
- Transparent: Explains how features will work and how they won't work, especially in triggering user-to-user communications
Those all sound like good ideas that any decent app should follow, presumably all but a few apps written by students and international developers unable to pay $375 will be accepted as trustworthy. Meanwhile, apps are still treated like second class citizens in the newly redesigned Facebook (they are hidden in the background) and very few truly useful ones have access to enough oxygen to grow.
This verification process should have been in place when the platform launched, though there were so many apps coming through the pipe at the time that such a program might not have been tenable. Now enthusiasm has declined greatly so a vetting program may be less of a challenge.
Honestly, though, Facebook has far more potential than the app platform at least is realizing and its problems run deeper than a verification program is going to solve.
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I hardly pay any attention to the apps since the redesign of the profile pages.
Me either. Isn't it great?
Marshall, I wonder about a reason for the prejudice against international developers. Same as in the US, there are companies that are able to pay the bills and those that are not because they have not figured out how to make money or raise funds. I know US and the rest of the world are two very different things when it comes to web development but I don't think it is fair to compare all international developers to students unable to pay any fees involved in running a business.
@svetlana is it any news for you that for sake of profit (and hence tax revenue for govt), US legislation is very protective _against_ international competition in an indirect, tough-to-prove-in-court way?..
Posted by: silpol
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November 18, 2008 3:07 AM
@svetlana like non-acceptance of foreign credit cards, prohibition of certain business transactions (you can do them only IF you are US resident), mind you they also put their nose even abroad (yes, you may NOT charge US citizens from US-issued credit card for web gambling, EVEN if you run gambling web site somewhere nowhere)
Posted by: silpol
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November 18, 2008 3:07 AM
@svetlana I must say that both EU where I live, and Russian Federation have a lot of prohibitive legislation against foreigners to bring into country either, so... nothing new under moon ;)
Posted by: silpol
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November 18, 2008 3:09 AM
silpol: Yes, we both know that it may be difficult for any outsider to reach a new market simply because of various regulations involved (and they often work both ways) but I don't see any excuses for this remark in the post until we see Facebook prohibiting payments with foreign credit cards or only limits PayPal payments to US users.
Posted by: Svetlana Gladkova
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November 18, 2008 3:13 AM
@svetlana one of classical excuses (considered as valid by US public) that business have no means to sue in court 3rd party app provider IF something goes wrong...
Posted by: silpol
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November 18, 2008 3:16 AM
silpol: I understand that and of course it may be a good reason for concerns but I doubt that means that international developers should be placed together with students. After all, US students are probably easy enough to sue for US businesses?
Posted by: Svetlana Gladkova
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November 18, 2008 4:05 AM
Svetlana, international businesses are one thing but exchange rates and income differences will make it harder for casual developers and side projects to come up with the equivalent of $350 USD, right?
Marshall, you will be surprised to know how many international developers make their money in the US mostly so exchange rates are not applicable. Casual developers are casual developers everywhere and for a casual developer based in the US it will probably be equally difficult to come up with this amount. But there are tons of international developers that can hardly be described as casual. Should I begin bragging about Yandex again? I don't really know why the agreement is usually that internet and software businesses only exist and succeed in the US.
Should I begin bragging about Yandex again